Elah Bark
by Dawn Darrow
Summary: A story of a muggle-born sorted into Slytherin. She struggles year by year to save her classmates from the world, war, and themselves. A story of secrets, loyalty and civil disobedience in the face of a millennium of tradition.


Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter universe. I do not profit from writing this.

Now for some notes to avoid confusion:

Well, this is my first attempt at a longer story. Since I'm new to this I'd appreciate any and all feedback. I didn't think that I'd try something like this, but after pulling an all-nighter, this story kind of wouldn't let go of my easily distracted brain.

To clarify, this story begins in 1989, two years before Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts. It will NOT be focusing on the plots of the books or the Gryffindor trio, though those will be present until at least Harry's fifth year, when I might change the timeline significantly. Rather, it will follow an original character as she deals with the issues that she finds important in her time at the school. I have not decided whether or not I will continue the story after that.

I have a pretty good idea of where I want this story to go, but it will take a while to get there. Many of the central characters of this story will be relatively minor characters from the books such as the Weasley Twins. Some will be my own ideas of what characters briefly mentioned in the books would be like. I will try to use names of students that were either present in the books or games, however minor that may be, and I may run out. Their years, however, may not be correct unless they were mentioned specifically in the books.

Last, each year of the main character's schooling will be based on a theme, if anybody cares to know. One word that pertains to the experiences had in that year. This year's theme: Adaptation.

GHRSGHRSGHRS

Chapter 1: September 1st, 1989

When Elah arrived at platform 934, her first thought was that wizards and witches must be completely insane to make people run through brick walls. Her very next thought was that there were certainly a lot of people on this platform, which meant that she should probably board the train so that she could find an empty compartment. She was, however, too late, as all of the compartments were already occupied. They were not full yet, though, so she could still find a place.

Elah walked down the corridor, bypassing several compartments that held older looking students. She even decided against joining a group of girls her age. They were whispering and giggling, and Elah thought they must be terrible gossips. She never did fit in with people like that. Elah had brown, wavy hair that was too long, as she never bothered to cut it, and electric green eyes. Her nose was too small, her eyes were too big, and she was just a bit too tall for her age. And so she left them to their musings.

When she finally found a suitable looking compartment, she knocked on the door and waited for an answer before entering. Inside was a pleasant looking boy with dirty blonde and an extremely white smile. Next to him was another boy, who was all dark spiky hair and a grin that meant no good. It was the second boy who spoke first.

"What can we do for a pretty lady like you?" He asked in a mischievous tone.

Elah was quite amused by this. Instead of answering the question, however, she said, "I'll bet your mother must call you a handful all the time at home." She knew that she had guessed right when his grin widened.

"Two hands, actually. Sometimes more," He replied. "My name's Ian Reynolds." He held out his hand.

"Elah Bark," she supplied, giving his hand a firm shake. "Nice to meet you." She then turned to the other occupant of the compartment, who was almost laughing at them.

"Cedric Diggory. And you shouldn't encourage him. His mother has called him much worse things, I assure you," he told her, also shaking her hand. "Are you a first year too?" he asked.

"Yup."

"And that accent, it's American, yeah? What brings you to Britain?"

Elah smiled. "That's right. I got a scholarship to study abroad here, so I jumped at the chance. I refuse to start saying things like 'jolly good' and wearing tweed, though. I just won't let that that happen to a good American girl like me."

Both boys chuckled. The remainder of the train ride to Hogwarts was spent comparing British terms, foods, and clothing. All in all, it was wholly unremarkable and the trio parted amicably once the train reached its destination.

The boat ride up to the castle that served as a boarding school provided the most beautiful view of the structure to the first years as they crossed the lake. Elah sat in a boat with two girls who could not stop talking, which significantly diminished the mood. As soon as the other side was reached, Elah took the opportunity to move as far away from them as she could.

It was when they met with a stern looking woman at the top of a flight of stairs that something interesting happened. After she announced that the sorting would take place in only a few minutes and left to prepare, one of the boys began to talk rather loudly.

"I know that I will be going into Slytherin," he boasted. "No filthy mud bloods in that house. All of you muggle-borns best remember who your betters are."

Elah knew what a mud blood was. In fact, she was one herself. She decided then, after hearing some amount of agreement with the loud one, that nobody needed to know her being a muggle-born. Elah would do everything she could to not give away the fact that she had never before seen magic. She certainly did not want to be teased or hated because of it.

It was then that the professor led them all into a hall with four long tables filled with older students. Elah noticed the ceiling right away, as it was enchanted to look like the sky outside, which was dark and cloudy this evening. They were in Scotland, after all.

A hat on a stool was placed at the front of the hall. It then proceeded to do something very odd, to Elah's sensibilities. The hat began to sing. It went on to describe the four houses that one could be sorted into. Elah paid little attention, as she had already done some research on what she would be faced with in each house. Instead, she glanced at the other first years, who almost all stared at the hat.

When the first name was called Elah returned her attention to the magical piece of clothing. Elah watched as the hat was placed on Ronald Abberley's head. Only a few moments later the hat shouted "Ravenclaw!" and the table under the blue and bronze tapestry broke into applause. Abberley joined his new housemates.

It wasn't long at all before the professor called out "Bark, Elah." Elah made her way to the stool, calm and collected. When the hat was placed on her head she was marginally surprised to hear its voice by her ear.

"Ah. What do we have here? Oh yes… you are very far away from home miss Bark. California is rather different from England, you'll see. But where to put you?"

Elah remained quiet. From what had been said to her, the hat would put her where she had the most chance of success. She didn't know enough about Hogwarts or the wizarding world to have much of an opinion.

"Well, you certainly hold loyalty in high esteem. You would do well in Hufflepuff. They are loyal to the end… But what is this? Oh-ho! This should be interesting. I think I will put you in SLYTHERIN!" The last word was shouted to the rest of the great hall.

Elah remained on the stool a moment after the hat was taken off. A muggle-born in the snake pit? This should be interesting. She stood and made her way to the table that was politely clapping. The green and silver students seemed to be much more reserved than the rest of the student body.

A boy sitting near the middle of the table made room for her to sit. "Lucian Bole, second year," he said quietly. "Just sit tight until the end of the ceremony."

Elah did as she was told. One of the giggly girls had just been put into Gryffindor. She watched as Cedric Diggory was put into Hufflepuff. Ian followed him a bit later.

The rest of the sorting went smoothly, except for a pair of twins, who nobody would be able to tell apart. Apparently, when the one named Fred had been called, the one named George had put the hat on. The hat's response to this was to say to the whole hall, "Thank you, _George_ Weasley, for that bit of information. Go to Gryffindor." After which, Fred placed on the hat, only to join his brother at the table designated by a gold and scarlet banner.

When the sorting was finished, the headmaster, an old man named Dumbledore, stood up and the hall went quiet. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he began. "I realize that you must all be very hungry, and so I will attempt to make this short. First, the forbidden forest is called that for a reason. Do not enter it. Second, a list of rules can be found posted on mister Filch's office door. And last, but most certainly not least, Professor Call is our newest addition to the Hogwarts teaching staff." There was a small round of applause at this, after which, Dumbledore continued. "He will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Please be welcoming to him. And now, we eat."

The table in front of Elah was suddenly filled with food, and it all smelled delicious. As students began filling their plates, Lucian turned back to her.

"Eat up, Bark. We don't get feasts like this all the time." She piled her plate high. "Tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well…" Elah began. She really had no clue where to start. "Umm… I come from the United States. Los Angeles, California."

"Really?" a girl across from her asked. She was a first year as well, Imogen Stretton, if Elah remembered correctly. Imogen . "What's it like over in the colonies?"

Elah laughed a bit at that. "Well, for one, we don't think we're colonies anymore." Imogen looked a bit sheepish. "And it really isn't so different. We speak the same languages, but that's debatable." That got a couple laughs. "But the biggest difference is the weather. I come from sunny California, by the beach. So I'm gonna have to get used to the cold while I'm here."

The feast wore on for some time and Elah became tentative friends with Imogen. Everyone talked and enjoyed themselves. Elah observed, however, that the occupants of her table were engaged in a game of sorts.

Though she was sure that not many were aware, and nobody from another house could tell, there was a subtle power struggle between the upperclassmen. It was only a carefully chosen word or a well masked insult that alerted her to this fact.

Elah joined the game just as subtly, though she did not notice any of her own year mates doing so. She steered clear of the insults, but she chose her words carefully in order to steer the conversation away from herself. Personal information could be used against you. But you could also use it against other people.

She must not have been subtle enough, because Lucian noticed. He gave her a surprised look when she evaded a question about her parents, successfully satisfying the curiosity of the students while telling them absolutely nothing of great importance. And to a Slytherin, family was important. All that was known was that her father "did research in Asia" and her mother "didn't have a job." Some might have missed it, but she was sure that at least Lucian had caught the use of past tense.

Elah ignored the look and continued to eat. It wasn't a problem if he noticed. She was just a first year and she would have to practice. Lucian gave her a subtle nod and also rejoined the feast.

"… and my father's going to by me a broom next year, so that I can try out for the quidditch team. It's too bad that first years can't try out, don't you think?" Imogen asked.

"Not particularly," Elah replied. She honestly had no idea what quidditch was.

"What? Why not? It would be great to fly for Slytherin."

So it was a sport where you fly on brooms. Alright. That made sense. "Ah… Well, I'm not so fond of flying… and I am not so interested in sports," Elah said, trying to sound convincing.

"Oh. Are you not so good at flying then?" A boy named Timothy Morcott, another second year, asked. Elah just smiled at him. She had guessed correctly.

The feast finally came to an end when Dumbledore stood and announced that it was time for prefects to show the first years where their dormitories were. Elah and her year mates followed a fifth year named Diane Carter to the dungeons, where the password, "agathokakological," was given. The first years were then ushered into the Slytherin common room for the first time.

The room was homey; if a bit dull in its color scheme. A light with a green tint to it lit from the borders of the ceiling and floor. The walls were a soft green color and the furniture, which consisted of a number of chairs, tables and couches, was black leather. A fireplace at one end of the room gave off a merry crackle and several portraits were conversing with one another. That was something that Elah would have to get used to. That and the stairs. Wizards were weird.

What really caught her attention was the carpet. It was a grey color and it looked soft. Not just any soft, but the kind of soft that you wanted to roll around on and fall asleep on after late nights with friends. Elah almost wanted to take her shoes off and squish her toes in just to see if she was right. She refrained, however, when another prefect, a boy this time, began to speak.

"Alright everyone," he started. "I know it's late, and we will be going over the rules more thoroughly tomorrow. But just hear me out for a minute. First, breakfast starts at six and goes until eight, when classes will start. Don't sleep through it. Our head of house is Professor Snape, the potions master at here. We will pass out your schedules at breakfast. Now go to bed. Girls to the left, boys to the right."

And with that, Elah's induction into Hogwarts was complete.

GHRSGHRSGHRS

Well that's the first chapter. I feel kind of accomplished. I've gotten this far, and I know where I'm going next. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please review! I'd love to get some feedback.

First year should last anywhere from five to seven chapters, this being the first.

I feel like my biggest problem is that I skip over long periods of time without actually saying what happens. But, I did manage to get in some key characters and information, like the games at the Slytherin table.

Elah won't be going on too many adventures this year (certainly not like Harry Potter). The theme is _observation_ after all. Not much information has been given about her yet. It will be revealed throughout the story.

Anyway, thanks for reading

Dawn Darrow


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